Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond has been met with mostly high regard from the fans but one entry during his run tends to be maligned by most when discussing the films he has appeared in as 007. After 2006’s Casino Royale breathed new life into the franchise, its direct sequel, Quantum of Solace, wasn’t met with the same high regard. If you were to ask most James Bond fans, they would likely say that it’s the worst movie of the Craig era of Bond and the lead actor himself has even called the process of making the film a “s**tshow.” Despite how most feel about the film, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are coming out in defense of the movie.
Broccoli and Wilson recently spoke with “SlashFilm” about the franchise and they went on to explain why they think Quantum of Solace is an important entry in the development of Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond:
“I’m really proud of the movie. I think it’s part of the whole evolution of Bond. And I think after ‘Casino Royale,’ when he shuts down emotionally, the next step was going out for revenge. I think the story of that film is that revenge is an empty challenge. You don’t get any benefit from revenge. So I think it’s important in the whole history of the evolution of this character. I’m very proud of it for sure.”
Even though the Bond producers are proud of the film, there is no denying that the movie had issues that began behind the scenes. Quantum of Solace went before the cameras without a polished script due to the writers’ strike going on in the industry at the time. Some also think that director Marc Forster was a poor choice to helm the film after the masterful job that Martin Campbell did with Casino Royale. Mathieu Amalric’s villain is also pointed out by fans as one of the weaker Bond villains of the franchise.
Released in 2008 as a direct sequel to Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace finds Bond seeking revenge for the death of his lover, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), and is assisted by Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), who is coincidentally seeking to avenge the murder of her own family. The trail eventually leads them to wealthy businessman Dominic Greene (Amalric), a member of the Quantum organization, which intends to stage a coup d’etat in Bolivia to seize control of their water supply. While still fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is on the low end of the spectrum at 64% and its box office run ultimately ended at $589.6 million worldwide, a dip from the global take of Casino Royale which took in $616.5 million worldwide. The film also stars Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright, and Judi Dench.
Do YOU think Quantum of Solace is the worst Bond entry of the Daniel Craig era?